Method of and apparatus for stripping coal-beds



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. J. MASON & P; K. HOOVER. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING GOALBEDS.

No. 591,047, Patented Oct. 5,1897.

(No Model) 5 8heets-Sheet 2.

A. J. MASON & F. K. HOOVER. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING GOALBEDS.

No. 591,047. Patented Oct. 5, 1897.

m: mmms versus 00', Puom-urno. WASHINGYGN, n. c

(N0 Mozlel.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. J. MASON 82: P. K. HOOVER. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING coALBEDS.

No. 591,047. Patented Oct. 5,1897.

Tu: ncnms PETERS on. Pnorau'mc WASHINGTON. n. c.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

A. J. MASON & F. K. HOOVER. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING GOALBEDS.

No. 591,047. Patented, Oct. 5,1897.

m: norms Farms co. wuorwu'ma. WASNINGTON, u. c

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet, 5.

A. J. MASON-8Z7 P. K. HOOVER. METHOD 0]? AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPINGCOAL BEDS.

No. 591,047. Patented Oct. 5,1897

ruz mmms PETERS co, PHDTO-LIYHOA wnsnmomm 0 1:

with TATES ARTHUR J. MASON AND FRANK K. HOOVER, OF KANSAS CITY,MISSOURI.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING COAL-BEIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,047, dated October5, 1897.

Application filed April 3, 1896. Serial No. 586,105. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, ARTHUR J. MASON and FRANK K. HOOVER, of Kansas City,in the county of Jackson, in the State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus forStripping Coal-Beds, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform a part of this specification. Our invention relates to improvementsin methods of and apparatus for stripping coalbeds; and it consists ofcertain features of novelty hereinafter described, and pointed out inthe claims. As at present carried on the operation of stripping coal andmaking like excavations is usually performed by teams with plows andscrapers, the earth being plowed in the excavation and collected by thescrapers and hauled out and up on the dump by the teams. To thisoperation runways from the excavation to the surface are necessary, andas the earth accumulates on the dump a long uphill haul on a steep graderesults, making the work of excavating slow and laborious and confiningthe operation to narrow limits within the immediate vicinity of therunways. Not only so, but the run- Ways interfere seriously with thework of plowing, and the teams doing the plowing and scraping beingconfined to a narrow area constantly interfere with each other, so thatthe full working efficiency of the teams, dis-.

sipated by the long uphill hauls and the interferences, is to buta smallextent utilized. By our invention and improved method thesedifficulties, obstructions, and interferences are removed and the workof excavation is carried on with facility and despatch.

By our method the work in the excavation may be extended over as largean area as may be desired, to do which the working face of theexcavation is preferably formed and maintained at an incline from thesurface at the forward or advance end of the excavation to the bottom ofthe excavation at the rear or finished end, the sides remainingsubstantially perpendicular or at such angle as to prevent caving in.The work of plowing is done on this incline, and the work of scraping,collecting, and hauling the earth is all downhill, the work of the teamsbeing thus confined within the excavation where it can be mostadvantageously employed, the work of excavating and removing thematerial from the excavation being performed by a steamoperated conveyerhaving one end located within the excavation conveniently for access bythe teams and scrapers and the other end extending over the dump. Theinclined working face of the excavation is constantlymaintained and theexcavation is advanced upon planes substantially parallel with theinclined plane of the initial working face. As there are no runways orother obstructions within the excavation and no long uphill hauls it isapparent that the work of the teams is without obstruction, continuous,and uninterrupted and the fullest working efficiency is utilized andextended over as large an area within the excavation as may be withinthe coefficient of economy.

The steps in the method are asfollows: The end face l is firstestablished. The end face is then loosened, preferably by plowing, andthe prism 8 Fig. 8, thus prepared for the operation of scrapers. Thereceiving end of a conveyor is then placed at 8 and the loosenedmaterial within the area 8 is collected and carried downhill to the saidconveyer and thereby transported to the dump. The receiving end of saidconveyer is next brought to the position 8 and the material Within thearea 8* S 8 8 in a like manner removed. By successive locations of theconveyer to the sites 8 and 8 the whole of the material Within the prism8 is removed. The prism 8 is next removed in a similar manner. To stripthe coal, a pit or excavation is thus advanced, leaving a form of canalbehind the apparatus.

To effect this method, we employ certain mechanism of our invention,which will now be described.

Figure 1 represents a view of the apparatus in position for operation instripping coal or making a like excavation. Fig. 2 represents a crosssection of the excavation and the dump, showing the operative relationof the apparatus thereto. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal section ofthe same. Fig. 4 represents a plan view thereof. Fig. 5 represents acrosssection of the car and aportion of the truss upon which theconveyor is carried,

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showing the means by which it is supported and adjusted thereon. Fig. 6represents an end view of the car and side elevation of part of thetruss supported thereon. Fig. 7 represents a plan view of the same. Fig.8 represents a longitudinal section of the excavation, showing thesuccessive steps by which the excavation proceeds. Fig. 9 represents aplan view of the same. Fig. 10 represents a longitudinal sectional viewin which the plowing and collection is conducted on a substantiallyhorizontal plane. Fig. 11 represents a plan view of the receiving end ofthe conveyer, showing the trap and driveways at the side thereof. Fig.12 shows an end view of the same. Fig. 13 shows a side view of the same.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

1 represents a truss carried on the rocking beam 1, mounted in thebearing 1 formed in the tower 1 supported upon the car-truck. As seen inFigs. 5 and 6, on said truck-frame is provided a support 5 on which ismounted the jack-screw 1, connected by a beam 5 with the bottomlongitudinal members of the truss, whereby said truss is rocked in itsbearing upon the tower.

1 represents drums mounted at or near the ends of the truss upon whichtravels the belt conveyer 1, there being provided at suitable intervalsintermediate rollers 1 to support the same. The conveyer is driven,preferably, by rope passing over the sheaves 1 powerbeing supplied bythe engine 1 located on the car. At or near the end of the trussextending into the excavation over the conveyer is erected the platform1 provided with the trap 1 and having the lateral wings or driveways lAt said end the truss is also provided with the members 1 and the jacks1" for maintaining the level of the truss upon the incline of theexcavation. In operation the scraper loaded with material from the ex.-cavation is drawn down the incline upon the platform and dumped throughthe trap upon the conveyer, and by it is elevated from the excavationand transported to and emptied upon the dump.

It is thus apparent that by the use of our invention and improvementsthe work of the scraper and team is confined to alimited area and aminimum haul within the excavation, approximately as shown by the dottedlines 1 in Fig. 1, while the more arduous and tedious labor of conveyingthe material from the excavation to and upon the dump is performed bythe conveyer, thereby effecting a very great saving of time and largelyincreasing the capacity of the teams.

When it is desired to move the apparatus, by the operation of thejack-screw 1 the truss is rocked on its bearing and the platform end israised. The whole weight of the truss is then carried on the car, thecar is moved on the track 1 to the desired position, the platform end islowered by means of the jackscrew 1, the jack-screws 1 are then adjustedto give a substantial bearing, and the work of excavation is resumed.The operation of excavation is continuously forward, advancing the faceuniformly to the right in Fig. 1. Preferably the working surface of theexcavation is maintained at an incline, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, andthe excavation is advanced upon planes substantially parallel with theplane of the initial working'face, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, so thatthe haul of the loaded scraper is Wholly on a downgrade, thus furtherincreasing the working efficiency of the team and reversing the ordinarycourse of the operaton in common usage, in which the haul of the loadedscraper is always up an elevation equal to the depth of the excavationplus the height of the dump. It is apparent that the conveyer may bemoved forward and backward, locating the traps upon the incline withinthe desired haul. Such working surface may, however, be maintained in asubstantially horizontal plane, as shown in Fig. 10, the sides of theexcavation being cut down in a substantially perpendicular relation,free from runways and like obstructions, and the excavation advancedupon a plane or series of planes substantially parallel with the planeof such initial working surface, and the driveways I may be placedlongitudinally with relation to the conveyer instead of transversethereto, and a chute 11 provided to deliver the material from the trapupon the conveyer, as shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13.

Having fully described our improvements, what we claim as our invention,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method of stripping coal or making like excavations, whichconsists in forming and maintaining an inclined working end face,loosening the said end face, and hauling or scraping the materialdownhill upon said end face to the receiving end of a conveyer locatedupon the bed of the excavation, and by said conveyer transporting thematerial to the dump; from time to time removing said conveyer todifferent sites on said working face in order to command all theloosened material upon said face within a desired short haul, in such amanner as to remove successive prisms from the end or working face andthus maintain the face at a desired constant and economical formsubstantially as set forth.

2. The method of stripping coal or making like excavations, whichconsists in forming and maintaining a working face or plane, looseningthe material on said plane, collecting, hauling or scraping the same tothe receiving end of a conveyer located upon said working face or planeand transporting the material to the dump by said conveyer: from time totime removing said receiving end of the conveyer to different sites onsaid plane, in order to command all the loosened material upon said facewithin a desired short haul, in

such a manner as to remove successive prisms from said working facesubstantially as set fOliJh.

3. An apparatus for stripping coal-beds and facilitating and increasingthe efficiency of wheel or other scrapers in such operation, consistingof a truss supported upon a movable truck and adapted to rock thereon, aoonveyer adapted to travel on said truss, a platform upon said truss ator near one end thereof provided with a trap-opening upon said conveyer,and. wings or driveways connected with said platform for approachingsaid trap, substantially as set forth.

4:- In an apparatus for stripping coal-beds, the combination With'atruss of a single movable trnok on which said truss has a rockingbearing, a jack-screw mounted on said truck for rocking said trussthereon and so arranged that when the receiving end of the truss iselevated the entire Weight of the truss is carried upon said truck, aconveyer traveling onsaid truss, and a belt traveling over suitablesheaves for operating said conveyer substantially as set forth.

5. An apparatus for stripping coal-beds and facilitating and increasingthe efficiency of wheel and other scrapers in such operation, consistingof the combination with a conveyer, a movable support, a truss having arocking bearing on said support, and upon which said conveyeris adaptedto travel, and

support, of a platform on said truss at or near one end thereof, a trapin said platform over said conveyer, and wings or driveways connectedwith said platform for approaching said trap, substantially as setforth.

6. In an apparatus for stripping coal-beds, the combination with amovable support, a truss having a rocking bearing on said support andadapted to rock thereon, anda conveyer adapted to travel on said truss,of a platform at or near one end of said truss provided with a trap oversaid'conveyer, and wings or driveways connected with said platform forapproaching said trap, substantially as set forth.

ARTHUR J. MASON. FRANK K. HOOVER.

Witnesses:

DAVID A. MILES, O. E. KOONS.

a jack-screw for rocking said truss upon its

